Family Time: 2011 weight-loss resolutions for your pet

Click inside for the weekly family rail, with pet weight-loss tips, a look at the best family movies of 2010 and more. Or check out these links:

Tip of the Week

Nearly half (45 percent) of dogs and 58 percent of cats are overweight or obese (at least 20 percent above ideal weight), according to a recent survey of veterinarians by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.

Dr. Meredith Rettinger, a veterinarian with Laurel Pet Hospital in West Hollywood, Calif., offers five simple guidelines to help you - working with your veterinarian - help your pet live a leaner, healthier life.

- 1: Make an appointment with your veterinarian. Just as people need expert guidance and a physician's supervision when attempting to lose weight and/or improve their fitness level, veterinarians have the knowledge to help pet owners achieve sensible, lasting weight loss for their pets.

- 2: Set realistic, measurable exercise and weight loss goals. Your veterinarian can help you rule out any medical reasons for excess weight and help you plan a fitness and nutrition program that takes your pet's age, size and breed into account.

- 3: Discipline yourself to make exercise a priority for you and your pet. Sure, our lives are getting busier and we have less time to exercise, but even setting aside time each day for short walks with your pet will help both of you.

- 4: Control portions. Just as limiting intake is important to your own weight-loss goals, ensuring a daily volume of allowed food for your pet will be key to success. Your veterinarian can tell you the exact amount of food to feed your pet each day to achieve a healthy weight, so you don't have to guess. He or she also will remind you not to say "I love you" with food.

- 5: Use treats correctly. It's OK to reward your pet with a treat for a successfully completed task. Just remember that these calories need to be subtracted from the total calories allotted for the day, and they shouldn't exceed 10 percent of that allotment. Consider low-calorie treats, or break treats into smaller pieces for more rewards with the same amount of calories.

- ARA

Family Screening Room

According to movie website IMDB, three 2010 family movies made the all-time list of highest-rated family films. Here are those winners, which you should check out on DVD – all are good movies for the whole family:

1. “Toy Story 3”

12. “How to Train Your Dragon”

22. “Tangled”

Book Report

“A Tale Dark and Grimm,” by Adam Gidwitz

Ages: Young adult

Pages: 192

Synopsis: In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses and outwitted witches. Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after. – Penguin Young Readers Group

Did You Know

If you’re looking for cheap, generic prescription drugs, you know have more options: Target and Kroger now offer generics at about the same prices as Walmart.

GateHouse News Service

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